After much looking and several false starts I've located an ideal candidate. As of now PT2759 is mine! DC model with motor at 1 o'clock (same as 2296) shiny (?) top plate, mahogany armboard, RB300 and Denon 103. Control board stated to be dead but all the rest is perfectly ok. Now my lovely old 2296 can soldier on with a full compliment of spares, 2759 is going to be fitted with Funk Stage 3 kit, i.e. vector drive, new chassis, top plate, armboard, motor, psu, etc. Should be fun :)
The kicker? All this for £270 8)

Wulf wrote:After much looking and several false starts I've located an ideal candidate. As of now PT2759 is mine!

Saw that - there have been a few changing hands recently, and prices are finally sensible.

Wulf wrote:...shiny (?) top plate...

Yep, another PT anomaly. Strictly only the early production (slide switch) models should have the shiny top plate, but I set 2xxx numbered up that had a smoked mirror top. :?

Wulf wrote:...mahogany armboard, RB300 and Denon 103.

Result for £270 - well done that man.

Wulf wrote:Control board stated to be dead but all the rest is perfectly ok. Now my lovely old 2296 can soldier on with a full compliment of spares, 2759 is going to be fitted with Funk Stage 3 kit, i.e. vector drive, new chassis, top plate, armboard, motor, psu, etc. Should be fun :)

Are you going to fit the kit yourself (high recommended) or have FF do it (highly un-recommended!)?

Well done on the purchase I was shadowing you on ebay I should have snipe it.
:evil:
The deck is literally 5mins down the road from me so a little gutted. Mind you I did think when I asked him some questions he was a little vague. I asked to see the deck in the flesh before the final bidding but no chance. Will look forward to hearing about how it turns out when you get it and if the psu is repairable.
I am glad you got it in the end I am running out of room for more TT's. :lol:

Well you can bet that every part of it will find good use, I love 2296 for its good looks and originality (not to mention the hair-raisingly accurate and beguiling sound with the HR-100S and MM3). 2759 will be reborn as a smooth-talking giant-killer (hopefully!). Might try a Music Maker Classic to top it all off. The Denon is a nice cart but I may well pass it on at some point. Ditto the RB300, I need another HR-100S really ;)

Going down to see Arthur next Tuesday to pick up all the new bits - and an encapsulated DC motor for my mate's PT (which is yet again in pieces on my table).

Found a nice-condition pink lid to go with it, plus a really early HR-100S, serial # 1205 - it's ony got 3 grooves in the bias torque arm, and a much smaller bias weight than my other HR - might need J7 to give this a once-over at some point, although I'm tempted to find another, later model. If that happens then # 1205 will be up for sale. Fun times ahead.

I've heard a PT-V and it IS quite an improvement, although it retains PT's 'family' sound (or lack thereof) - VERY neutral and wonderfully revealing with the right material. Kinda makes one realise just what a sorted design the original deck is, however the V is much more 'solid' and has TONS of space around the musicians/instruments - quite hair-raising sometimes. This has to be down to the new materials and much tighter power supply, not to mention that awesome trick of putting the motor on the sub-chassis. The lack of suspension artifacts resulting from this is, I believe, one of the major contributors to the more open delivery.

Roll on Tuesday! ;)

BTW that aforementioned Alphason HR-100S, serial # 1205, is up for grabs. Got my beady eye on an MCS version 8)

Quick update - I have all the bits I need here now, currently applying lots of beeswax polish to the plinth while the drive system is running naked on the table... cleaning, tweaking, watching, measuring... the speed stability and power of the Vector Drive is awesome, it comes up to speed in under 3 secs and stops almost as fast. This is great fun and the closer I get to the final assembly the more my smile grows :)

Got a HR-100S MCS for it too, it's a lot better made than a standard one, gonna get J7 to rewire it before it's united with the V. Not going for a MusicMaker Classic now, gonna put the Shinon on it, that cart is the find of a lifetime.

Look forward to hearing your final verdict when all complete. I think I might try a Mechano version first.

By the way Wulf I have the 240/110 converter at home if you still want it. Had to go for a smaller version as my baggage weight was getting a tad high with all the rest of the junk I bought from the US. Unfortunately my new speakers have seen off the hope of another deck at the moment.

gonna put the Shinon on it, that cart is the find of a lifetime.

It's a great feeling when something new comes in to your life and the results are far ahead of anything else you thought was good. The Blue Note did that for me on my 'cup cake'.

That rear suspension is the same as they used on the Export and seems to use the same plastic with threaded metal piece as the normal suspension in my PT Too but with a hole and thread tapped into the side (should anyone want to make one).

Interesting that everything is raised up off the chassis as if it is the same thickness as the double layered Anni chassis - maybe this is because they only make the taller bearing these days. On the Anni, the rubber mounts for the motor are are recessed and only sit on the bottom layer of the chassis.

I'm more and more encouraged to make a part Anni, part Vector copy the more I see the innards of them, especially with that Coretex Group link Alex gave in another thread - I'm just not sure I could get the fit and finish as good as in Wulf's pictures!